NPR.org, February 13, 2009 · An angry federal judge held Justice Department attorneys in contempt Friday for failing to deliver documents to former Sen. Ted Stevens' legal team.
From his bench in a Washington, D.C., courtroom, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said it was "outrageous" that government attorneys would ignore his deadline for turning over documents.
Last month, Sullivan ordered the Justice Department to turn over all the agency's internal communications regarding a whistle-blower complaint against the FBI agent leading the investigation into the former Alaska senator.
The agent, Chad Joy, bitterly complained about some Justice Department tactics during the trial, including not turning over evidence and an "inappropriate relationship" between another agent working the case and the prosecutor's star witness.
Stevens was convicted in October of lying on Senate disclosure documents about hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and home renovations from an Alaska businessman. In November, Stevens lost his bid for re-election to the Senate seat he had held since 1968.
Stevens and his lawyers complained during the trial about prosecutors withholding information. In December, they asked for his conviction to be tossed out. As part of their request, they asked for the documents related to Joy.
During Friday's hearing, Sullivan repeatedly asked three Justice Department attorneys sitting at the prosecution's table whether they had some reason not to turn over the documents. They finally acknowledged they did not, and Sullivan exploded in anger.
"That was a court order," he bellowed. "That wasn't a request. I didn't ask for them out of the kindness of your hearts. ... Isn't the Department of Justice taking court orders seriously these days?"
He said he didn't want to get "sidetracked" by deciding a sanction immediately and would deal with their punishment later.
But he ordered them to produce the material by the end of the day.
"That's outrageous for the Department of Justice — the largest law firm on the planet," he said. "That is not acceptable in this court."
Sullivan held all three attorneys sitting at the table in contempt and demanded repeatedly to know who else was involved in withholding the information. Another government attorney sitting in the back of the courtroom stood up and gave her name.
Judges rarely hold prosecutors in contempt.
The most notable recent case occurred in September 2007, when a North Carolina judge jailed prosecutor Mike Nifong for one day on a contempt charge for lying during the rape case against Duke lacrosse players.
But sanctioning federal prosecutors is even more unusual. A Washington bankruptcy judge did so in 1987, ruling that the Justice Department unlawfully tried to put a financially troubled computer firm out of business. In 1995, a federal judge in Texas held a prosecutor in contempt for refusing to provide him information that had been sealed by another judge.
Government prosecutors filed a complaint in December made by Joy, who said among other things that prosecutors mishandled evidence, covered up information and tried to arrange to keep a subpoenaed witness from testifying.
He also said the lead FBI agent in charge of the investigation, Mary Beth Kepner, had an inappropriate relationship with witness Bill Allen, the Alaska millionaire at the center of the investigation. Joy said he once saw Kepner entering Allen's hotel room alone and that Kepner told Joy that she wore a skirt during her appearance at the Stevens trial as a "surprise/present" for Allen.
He accused her of developing close personal relationships with other witnesses — inviting them to dine at her home, revealing details of FBI investigations and accepting gifts from them, including a job for her husband as a security guard at the Port of Anchorage, Alaska.
Comment: I have complained for over eight years to the US Department of Justice, in detail, concerning malicious racism to no avail. It would appear that the USDJ has come under serious criticism for ignoring their jobs and responsibilities to the American public.
High subsidies may scuttle Hawaii's ferry
Critics say commuter ferry should be cut to help balance city budget
Read comments (53)
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
TheBoat, Honolulu's commuter ferry from Kalaeloa to Alo- ha Tower, gives West O'ahu residents an oceangoing alternative to increasingly clogged highways, for no more than $4 per round- trip ticket.
What makes the service so cheap is that Honolulu taxpayers pay an additional $120 per roundtrip rider to cover the actual costs of operating TheBoat, according to a city study.
The cost of carrying each passenger on TheBoat is about 62 times more than the cost of an average trip on TheBus. It is also significantly more expensive than comparable Mainland ferry services.
The high average cost of a trip on Honolulu's two-boat commuter ferry service results from a combination of relatively low ridership, the actual expense of running the boats, low fares and an operating environment that leads to less reliable service than some Mainland systems, according to various sources.
Despite the high subsidy costs, Mayor Mufi Hannemann and some City Council members are considering continuing the $4 million-a-year commuter ferry service for a third year, once the current operating contract ends late this year.
City officials acknowledge the service's high per-passenger costs, but argue TheBoat is an integral part of a multimodal mass-transit strategy they hope will someday include an elevated commuter train.
"The problem is that some people look at this as a business," said Councilman Nestor Garcia. "Government is not in the business of making money. True, we have to try to make sure we account for taxpayers' dollars and make sure they're spent wisely — especially in this environment. But government is here to provide a service."
Critics of TheBoat contend the cost to taxpayers is too high and that cutting the service may be one way to trim the city's unbalanced budget. Right now, nobody's ruling out possible tax hikes and fee increases as a means of filling an estimated $13 million to $40 million deficit in the fiscal 2010 budget year that ends June 30 of next year.
"If you can provide the same service (as TheBoat) at a cheaper rate through TheBus, then that's something we have to consider because as long as we can provide the basic service — that's the priority," said Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz.
TheBoat may be sailing on a sea of red ink: Its $4 million annual subsidy amounts to just 2 percent of the city's $196 million public transit budget. Systemwide, TheBoat adds just 7 cents per passenger to Honolulu's public transit costs, said Wayne Yoshioka, director for the city's Department of Transportation Services, which oversees TheBoat.
"We can absorb that cost," he told council members during a committee hearing last week. "Still, we're always looking for maximum efficiency so that doesn't mean we're going to ignore this."
37 percent of capacity
The commuter ferry service, which launched in September 2007, was a part of Hannemann's 2004 campaign proposals that also included commuter rail.
TheBoat started as a pilot project financed mainly via a one-year, $5 million federal grant. The city picked up $4 million in annual costs when it decided to continue the service.
The service is run by New Albany, Ind.-based Hornblower Marine Services Inc., which operates two double-decker ships capable of carrying up to 149 passengers. During the week, the ferry provides three morning and three afternoon trips between West O'ahu and Downtown. That equates to a total daily capacity of 894 passengers. However, the most recent ridership figures released by the city in September show an average daily ridership of about 335 boardings. That means the boats typically operate at about 37 percent of maximum capacity.
The Advertiser waited more than two weeks for the city to provide more recent ridership and cost figures. Yoshioka said the city has more recent figures, but would not provide them.
According to a September report by Art Anderson Associates, TheBoat was projected to carry 64,590 passengers last year. Actual 2008 ridership figures were not available from the city. The projected annual ridership level, coupled with the ferry's annual operating cost of $4 million, leads to an average per passenger boarding cost of nearly $62.
In contrast TheBus, which costs about $143 million to operate, carried nearly 72 million passengers in 2007, for an average per-passenger boarding cost of $1.99, according to the Federal Transit Administration.
The city says TheBoat's high costs are not out of line with the cost of providing some city bus express routes. For example, the 85A express bus from Kailua /Kane'ohe to Downtown/University of Hawai'i costs the city $53 per boarding. The 86A from Kane'ohe/Kahalu'u to Pearl Harbor costs about $50 per boarding, according to the city.
In contrast, the 93 Wai'anae Coast-to-Honolulu express bus has a per-passenger boarding cost of about $3.50, according to Roger Morton, president and general manager of O'ahu Transit Services Inc., operator of TheBus.
However, Morton noted that Honolulu's TheBus benefits from higher-than-average ridership, which helps drive down costs per passenger.
"I believe we are the lowest (in terms of) per-passenger cost in the country," he said. "It's because roughly our utilization is about 75 percent more than average. That's really what it comes down to."
raising ridership
According to the city-sponsored Art Anderson report, there are several recommendations that could help boost ridership at TheBoat. These changes include using boats better equipped for open-ocean operations, establishing more pickup and drop-off points, and creating permanent passenger loading and dock facilities.
The single best improvement that could be made to the service would be adding a terminal location at Ocean Pointe, Iroquois Point, or Pearl Harbor, according to the report. That's because the current West O'ahu terminal at Kalaeloa Harbor requires 'Ewa commuters to travel in the opposite direction of Honolulu to access the ferry service. That means that for many commuters, the reduction in commuting times via TheBoat versus H-1 is marginal.
For Garcia, a recent commute from Waipahu to Downtown via TheBus and TheBoat took almost three hours.
"I had to go west to go east," he said. "It took a little bit longer, but I avoided the H-1/H-2 merge."
The study also recommends the city look at possibly using larger catamaran hulls fitted with ride control systems suited to O'ahu's waters. Inclement weather has caused numerous trip cancellations and incidences of seasickness among passengers.
The city's Yoshioka said a recent upgrade that included replacing one ferry boat with a newer, more efficient and stable boat should help address reliability issues. The plan is to evaluate ridership in one year then decide the future of TheBoat.
"What we would really like to see is one full year of operations with our boats in dependable service — not breaking down or having a problem or things like that that affect our ridership," Yoshioka said. "When things like that happen, people start saying I kind of like it, but can I depend on this thing because it's always breaking down?"
After one year "then we can fully assess, can we get this thing to a point where the ridership is where we want it to be?" Yoshioka said.
Council member Duke Bainum said a successful ferry service will require significant added resources such as additional boats, which the city cannot afford to provide.
"It makes sense — you've got water, use a boat," Bainum said. "It sounds good, but when you're in tough times you've got to spend money in ways that make the most sense. When you only have two (boats) you don't have the consistency. What you get is unreliable service."
Council member Gary Okino said it's important for the city to provide residents with transit options.
"But I think there's a point where you've got to say this is not going to help — this is not significant enough to be part of that system," said Okino, chairman of the council's Transportation and Planning Committee.
Okino said he'd like to hold a hearing to explore whether the city should continue TheBoat service.
"The economy is a factor in this budget session," he said. "We're probably going to have to look at some of those things.
"If you can find several of those ($4 million programs to cut), you can solve our budget problems."
Jamie Story, head of the free-market advocate Grassroots Institute of Hawaii, said the city does not need TheBoat, especially when other forms of transportation such as TheBus are more convenient and cheaper.
"Is it fair to make everybody pay for a project that so few people use?" she said. "It does take so much longer than other forms of transportation and it is undependable.
"No wonder people don't ride it."
Costlier than peers
According to the Art Anderson report, the city's Mainland peers include the Vashon Island-to-downtown-Seattle ferry, part of the Washington State Ferries system; the Vallejo Baylink, which connects the city of Vallejo and San Francisco; and a Washington state demonstration ferry service between Bellingham and Friday Harbor.
The Art Anderson report does not compare the cost of Honolulu's ferry service with these systems. However, according to figures contained in a 2008 study by Seattle's Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc., the cost of providing ferry service between Vashon Island and downtown Seattle was about $13 per passenger. The cost of providing service between Vallejo and San Francisco was about $14 per passenger.
TheBoat's $62 per passenger cost also is greater than the $44 per passenger cost of providing ferry service between Bellingham and Friday Harbor. That Washington state ferry service was operated for 18 weeks during the winter of 2005-06 under a federally subsidized demonstration project. That service was discontinued after the demonstration period because of regulatory barriers and high capital and operating costs, according to a November 2006 report by the Whatcom Council of Governments, which operated the demonstration ferry service.
For Mainland ferry services, high costs are partially offset by fare-box revenues, which helped finance between 15 percent and 56 percent of operating costs, according to Advertiser research. The amount of fare-box revenues collected is a function of ridership and fares. All of Honolulu's Mainland peers charge a higher fare than TheBoat. For example, the Vallejo Baylink charges a standard fare of $15 for the 20-mile, 60-minute ferry ride. In contrast, the maximum fare for riding TheBoat is $2. Riders pay no daily fare if transferring from TheBus or if they hold a bus pass.
The relatively low cost for TheBoat has made it an inexpensive alternative for those seeking to sightsee or take a low-cost sunset cruise. However, it's unknown how many visitors use TheBoat versus the number of resident riders. In addition, the city has not disclosed other key information including figures on the number of ferry riders who are new to public transit, versus the number that previously rode the bus. The city also does not appear to have established benchmarks to determine wheth- er the ferry is a success from either a ridership or cost-per-passenger standpoint.
"We need that sort of hard data to make those sorts of policy decisions on whether we go forward with this or not — especially in these hard budget times," said Councilman Charles Djou. "If all we're doing is getting people who would otherwise be on TheBus to otherwise ride the boat, why are we spending all these taxpayer resources? It's so much cheaper to get them to ride TheBus."
Garcia, chairman of the council's Budget Committee, said it's unfair to compare the costs and ridership of TheBoat with ferries in much larger cities.
"It's apples and oranges," he said. "Cost is a factor, but sometimes cost isn't a factor. We have to give people a choice.
"I'm going to do everything I can to try to preserve" TheBoat.
Comment: Only a Harvard-educated on the token Pacific Islander quota could imagine subsidizing a $4.00 boatride for $62.00 at taxpayer expense as a successful adventure. Typical Democrat!
Chinatown crime said to be on the rise
Residents and merchants plan meeting this month to discuss it
Read comments (18)
By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Police have beefed up patrols in Chinatown and Downtown, after business owners complained that they're seeing an increase in crime, including drug dealing and fights.
A police spokeswoman could not immediately provide statistics to support the reports, but said police are taking them seriously. In a statement, police Maj. Clayton Saito, District I commander, said, "We hear the (community) concerns."
Business owners and residents plan to gather this month at Hawaii Theatre to discuss crime in the area and how to deal with it. A date for the meeting has yet to be set.
Hawaii Theatre general manager Burton White, who is helping to organize the gathering, said businesses are banding together to tackle the crime issue before it gets out of hand.
He added that despite the recent problems, which apparently have cropped up in the last few months, both Chinatown and Downtown are safer than in years past thanks to a revitalization project spearheaded by the city.
"We've worked so hard to build up this area," White said.
The concerns about crime come as businesses in Chinatown and Downtown are being hit hard by the economic crisis. Though people still frequent events in the area, business owners said, they aren't spending as much.
Empty storefronts are now more common in the district — and that also has many worried. Fewer businesses, some say, could make it easier for criminals to gain more ground.
"Everybody is suffering. Everybody has their economic woes," White said, adding that he and others are worried the empty storefronts will spur a "blight and flight" of businesses.
don't scare customers
Marsha Joyner, Arts District Merchants Association coordinator, said it's difficult for businesses to discuss the crime problem because they're fearful it will stop people from coming to the area and further hurt sales. She added, though, that businesses realized the situation needed to be tackled before it got out of hand and caused more problems.
"I hesitate to talk about it," Joyner said. "With the economy being what it is, we are already walking on eggshells and really working hard to create an environment that is pleasant. We can't afford to have this going on."
But some businesses say the crime worries are being over- blown. Yoshi Aya Castillo, owner of the interior design shop Floterior on Bethel Street, said she believes the neighborhood has never been safer — or cleaner.
She noted that her shop doesn't stay open into the late evening, so she might be missing some of the crime others are seeing. But she said she hasn't witnessed any spike in crime.
"The community is good," she said.
some don't see a spike
Rich Richardson, creative director at the Arts at Marks Garage, said he's also not convinced that there is an increase in crime. He said perhaps a few incidents have been magnified because of a recent increase in the number of homeless in the area, making people perceive that crime is worse than it is.
"The closing of the beaches to (homeless) campers has driven a lot of traffic to Chinatown," he said. "Unfortunately, people have a stereotype that homelessness increases crime."
Others counter they've seen the crime increase firsthand.
Kim Potter, co-owner of Laughtrack Theater on Bethel Street, said a spike in criminal activity seems to have started late last year. She said the problems include drug dealing, which she says is now blatantly done in the day.
She also said that at night there are more fights.
Shannon Winpenny, the other co-owner of Laughtrack, said her brother was threatened with a knife recently after he left a bar. She said a dealer asked her brother if he wanted to buy drugs. When he said no, the dealer took out a knife.
Winpenny said that luckily passersby intervened.
Winpenny said she believes the increase in crime is because dealers see more "opportunity" in the area because more people are frequenting it. Most of the complaints about the crime problem are coming from the arts district, whose popularity has increased with revitalization efforts.
It's unclear what's spurring the reported increase in criminal activity. Police Chief Boise Correa has warned that spikes in crime often come during hard economic times. Some business owners and residents also said they believe the economy is playing a role.
other theories
But some have also theorized that crime may have increased because police recently started concentrating on certain parts of Chinatown, which may have spurred criminals to migrate to other areas in the district.
The police and city have clamped down on alleged drug dealing in two areas of Chinatown. On River Street, the city took down trellises to deter criminal activity.
Residents had reported tables under the trellises were hotbeds for gambling and drug dealing for years. When the trellises were taken down, which meant tables in the area were no longer shaded, the wrongdoers moved on, police have said.
In October, police also banned any stopping, loading or parking in cars on a section of Pauahi Street that residents have said was frequented by drug dealers and users. The tactic was designed to cut off the drug trade and move dealers away.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann undertook a revitalization of Chinatown in 2006, pledging to bring in a variety of partners to cut crime and change the reputation of the area.
The city plan included no significant funding, but Hannemann pledged to foster partnerships, beef up city maintenance in the area of parking lots, sidewalk and lighting and help police deal with trouble spots in the neighborhood.
Business owners say the push, which came as art galleries and other eclectic shops were staking their own claims in the district, has improved the neighborhood and cleaned up many spots.
And they stressed that though the recent crime problems are worrisome, crime in Chinatown and Downtown appears to be lower than it was before the revitalization effort.
City spokesman Bill Brennan said recently that Hannemann is aware of the concerns about crime, and is working to make sure the police are on top of the problem.
Some 20 business owners gathered last week at the Downtown Neighborhood Board meeting to air their concerns about the perceived crime problem. Frank Lovoie, board chairman, said that all the attendees agreed that crime is getting worse.
He said that the problem wasn't apparent until people started talking to one another about what they were seeing and realized the crime they witnessed wasn't isolated.
"When you get everyone together," he said, " you get the big picture."
>>>>
Some local newspaper readership comments:
808Life wrote:
Everytime, that we go to Chinatown, once a week for fresh veggies, I will remain with our car while the wife runs around buying things. If I'm park on the street, I see drug deals going on all the time. Sometimes these deals are going on right in front of cops writing out parking tickets. I have even asked the officers do you see what is going on, do you see the drug dealings. Some have retorted with wise guy answers, such as how do I know it is drugs, am I dealing also. Wow I couldn't believe it, wrong message to send to the very public that is working hard, and paying their wages..Aloha
02/17/2009 7:54:42 a.m.
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bumpercroptoo wrote:
The city/state/do-gooders have caused much of the problem in Chinatown/downtown area. Look at all the handouts there that attract the undercurrent. River of Life (get free food and use your $$ for drugs), ditto IHS, AALA Park, the church handouts, Gateway Park handouts, etc. Many places to get free food, even one place on Ft St Mall (close to McDs gives free meals). Add to that mix the free drug handout clinic, free needles van, ad nauseum. All that attracts the scum to the area and they hang around waiting for more handouts. Anyplace you have all those free handouts you will attract the "wrong kind" to the area. Stop the handouts and the scum will move on.
02/17/2009 7:47:09 a.m.
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808KILLah wrote:
I hate to admit that Chinatown is becoming a hotbed for increased homelessness and drug activities. I feel for the store owners and people who are being harassed. One way to solve this problem is that the security guards have to do theri jobs and be vocal when something is goin down.
02/17/2009 7:10:44 a.m.
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johnshupe01 wrote:
It's not the sellers, nor the buyers of these drugs, it's the money trail. Who finances drugs? Rather than making the main solution that of chasing these sellers, HPD should be working undercover to determine where these drug dealers can come up with the thousands of dollars necessary to purchase drugs for resale. We all might be surprised who the "money men" are behind the drug trade. Since the majority of the drug dealers are druggies themselves, it's rather doubtful that they would have the necessary funds to purchase large amounts of drugs.
02/17/2009 4:08:24 a.m.
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timeout808 wrote:
People complain about gambling and how it will become a bigger situation for the crime to start in our areas. If you have been to Vegas you would see the POLICE on two wheel electric scooters riding up and down the strip. This is exactly what is needed in areas such as this. If there were police in this area the homeless wouldn't be there, the drug dealers would be moving out and it would be a cleaner place to purchase everyones needs. The answer is the scooter patrol.
02/17/2009 4:03:55 a.m.
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303hawaiian wrote:
as a long time deliver drive in this area i can tell you first hand why the dealing goes on downtown. its because the bussiness men are there # 1 clients the 3 peice suits men. i have seen it done all over there to the upper class workers so its not the dealers look at the workers in the area seem to me the dealers just know where to go to make money and money is what we need now days. even the hookers down there during the day time its all because the bussiness men pick them up have fun on lunch and go right back to work i have seen it all the time. so we are looking at the worng people........
02/17/2009 3:42:46 a.m.
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Comment: Honolulu's Chinatown provides the setting for Justice Hawk's "Small Prices." All the criminals and their activities are identified in the novel.
Woman Heads To Prison For Stealing From Twigg-Smiths
Victims Say Defendant Used Money For Parties, Disneyland Trip
POSTED: 3:48 pm HST February 17, 2009
UPDATED: 4:00 pm HST February 17, 2009
HONOLULU -- A Circuit Court judge on Tuesday sentenced a woman to 15 years in prison for stealing more than $300,000 from former newspaper owner Thurston Twigg-Smith.
The defendant hoped to avoid prison and a criminal record.
Retired newspaper publisher Twigg-Smith and his wife lost $329,326 over a period of 30 months. Private assistant Holly Green spent the money.
She was lying, cheating and stealing huge amounts of money from us while she looked at me every day in the eye pretending to be my friend. It actually made me physically sick," Sharon Twigg-Smith said.
Green's lawyer said that because she had no prior record she should get probation and a chance to keep the crime off her record.
"Please for my daughter and my family and their future, please do not take me away from my family," Green said.
Green apologized to the Twigg-Smiths and said she never planned to deceive them.
It is not unusual for embezzlement defendants to get short sentences. What often makes a difference, and did in this case, was how the defendant used the stolen money, KITV reported.
Green claimed the average $8,000 per month was to pay for rent and other necessities. However, Sharon Twigg-Smith found otherwise.
"There're trips to Disneyland. There're family vacations. There are parties for 100 people at Halloween every year," Sharon Twigg-Smith said.
"I did have a Halloween party. It was for kids and I did take my daughter to Disneyland, but that would have happened anyway," Green said.
"I have to sentence you in count one to 10 years in jail, and on all the other counts to five years in jail," the judge said.
The Twigg-Smiths said they are sad about the situation. They said they hope the prison time will deter other potential thieves.
Comment: Typical Honolulu executive female ... no integrity, no consciousness ..... When she gets released for good beavior, I am sure the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) will have a position of responsibility for her.
Senate bill restricts sale of ceded lands
Read comments (160)
Advertiser Staff, News Services
The state Senate today unanimously passed legislation that would restrict the sale of ceded lands by the state.
The legislation falls short of a full moratorium on sales of ceded lands that Native Hawaiians had sought. But if enacted, the bill would make it politically difficult for the state to sell or transfer anything more than small portions of the lands until Native Hawaiian claims are settled.
The measure now goes to the House.
The move came on a day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that acting Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler will be allowed to speak on behalf of the state of Hawaii in its ceded land case against the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on Wednesday.
OHA and its supporters had hoped that President Obama's new solicitor general, Elena Kagan, would drop Kneelder's support of the state's position on the case.
But at a news conference at Iolani Palace this morning, OHA officials pointed out that Kagan cannot take office until she is confirmed. Kneedler was appointed to the acting post on Jan. 16 by outgoing President Bush and the request to appear before the High Court was made Jan. 29.
OHA administrator Clyde Namuo said he does not know if Kneedler will actually appear before the court and argue for 10 minutes on behalf of the state.
OHA and four Native Hawaiians last year won a case in Hawaii Supreme Court barring the state from selling ceded lands until claims of Native Hawaiians to those lands are resolved.
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to state Attorney General Mark Bennett's petition to have the case heard. Oral arguments are scheduled for Wednesday.
"This case concerns whether federal law required or permitted the Supreme Court of Hawaii to enjoin the State of Hawaii from transferring lands that the United States obtained in fee simple absolute upon the annexation of Hawaii in 1898 and granted to the State, to hold in trust, upon its admission to the Union," Kneedler wrote in his petition. "Those issues implicate significant federal interests."
The ceded lands in question are 1.2 million acres that once was under the control of the Hawaiian monarchy. The U.S. transferred the land in trust to the state when it was granted statehood in 1959.
>>>>
Some local newspaper comments:
Richyp wrote:
kamealoha83,
If I may give you an example;
I'm Hawaiian (as best I can tell!) My wife is of some Swedish, German, Latvian, Dutch mix. Our kids are.....American. Two were born in the UK and one here. We all have US passports and call Hawaii home! See how complex it gets!
Some would claim these lands for only those of Hawaiian blood, this would give my kids and I greater rights than my wife. That in my book is both stupid and racist.
The lands in question belong to all Hawaiian's, current and future. If you wish to live in the past then the world will just leave you behind.
02/20/2009 5:07:40 p.m.
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Shaka7 wrote:
It don't matter what the Senators bow down to, the U.S. Supreme Court will make the decision for them. This just goes to show what will happen to the state should the Akaka Bill pass. The legislature will bow down to the Hawaiians and give them anything they ask for. They have no guts and many if not most are related to "hawaiians" and expect to make money on it.
02/20/2009 3:04:45 p.m.
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kekuaokalani wrote:
The Hawaiians only movement is filled with lots of Kanakadelphia whose sophistry paints them well as the nitwitted racists they actual are.
02/20/2009 2:14:50 p.m.
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kekuaokalani wrote:
This is a case so simple that the SCOTUS could not let our court decision stand. When the U.S. acquired new land through annexation, it acquired perfect title. Native Hawaiians simply have not claim to the land. Quit this silly racisms will ya? Most of you who crab so much as more something else than native Hawaiian by blood, and many to an absurd degree. I totally agree with Mr. Krischel.
02/20/2009 2:09:25 p.m.
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hapaboyinvegas wrote:
THE HAWAIIANS WERE IGNORANT IN 1778 & 1779 WHEN THEY BELIEVED ENGLISHMAN JAMES COOK WAS AN INCARNATION OF LONO.
THE HAWAIIANS WERE IGNORANT IN 1887 WHEN THE BAYONET CONSTITUTION WAS SIGNED BY KALAKAUA WHILE LILIUOKALANI WAS GAVALANTING THROUGH EUROPE PRETENDING TO BE AN EQUAL.
THE HAWAIIANS WERE IGNORANT IN 1883 WHEN LILIUOKALANI BELIEVED THE ACTIONS OF HAWAIIAN BUSINESSMEN OF EUROPEAN & AMERICAN DESCENT WERE ACTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
THE HAWAIIANS WERE IGNORANT IN 1883 WHEN LILIUOKALANI BELIEVED THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WOULD REINSTATE HER AUTHORITY OVER THE HAWAIIAN BUSINESSMEN WHO REMOVED HER AUTHORITY.
THE HAWAIIANS WERE IGNORANT FROM 1893 UNTIL 2009 BY BELIEVING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ORCHESTRATED & EXECUTED THE OVERTHROW WHEN IT WAS HAWAIIAN BUSINESSMEN WHO ORCHESTRATED & EXECUTED THE OVERTHROW.
THE HAWAIIANS ARE IGNORANT IN 2009 BY STILL REFUSING TO TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEMSELVES & THEIR PEOPLE BY PERPETUATING IGNORANCE OVER EDUCATION.
02/20/2009 1:17:04 p.m.
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jhkrischel wrote:
Okay, reality check, the "returned" lands (that were ceded by the multi-racial public of the Republic of Hawaii to the federal government during the territory period) are for ALL the public, not just one racial group. To pretend like there is some sort of racial claim to them, when even the Kingdom of Hawaii was multi-racial from its inception, is the worst kind of divisive identity politics.
He Hawaii au; he mau Hawaii kakou a pau. I am Hawaiian; we are ALL Hawaiians.
02/20/2009 12:50:55 p.m.
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Comment: It was predicted that the Democratic Party controled Hawaii State Senate Legislature would kowtow to the wishes US Senator Inouye and his Apostles of Apartheid.
Child Pornographer Must Pay $200G to Woman Photographed as Molested Child
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A federal judge in Connecticut has ordered a man convicted of possessing child pornography to pay about $200,000 in restitution to a woman photographed as a child while being sexually abused.
Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton said his ruling Monday was the first criminal case in which someone convicted of possessing illegal images — but not creating them — is required to pay restitution.
The case involves Alan Hesketh, a British citizen who was sentenced in October to 78 months in prison for possessing and distributing nearly 2,000 photographs of child pornography. The resident of Stonington, Conn., was a vice president of New York-based Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drugmaker.
Pictures of the victim as a child being subjected to sexual abuse turned up in Hesketh's collection, according to prosecutors.
"There is a feeling of revulsion about this type of conduct," Eginton said, noting that Hesketh and his family were humiliated and his career was ruined.
Eginton added, "We're dealing with a frontier here." But he said judges have discretion with criminal restitution orders.
Hesketh's attorney, Jonathan J. Einhorn, said he would appeal the order, calling it unreasonable and predicting it would probably lead to similar claims by child pornography victims. He said his client had no contact with the woman and defendants should only pay restitution to victims whose injuries they directly caused.
Einhorn also said the woman had not proven she was one of those whose image turned up on Hesketh's computer, and those who actually participated in creating pornography in other cases were ordered to pay less restitution than his client.
But James Marsh, the woman's attorney, said there is no distinction between those who produce the pornography and what Hesketh did.
"The victim is a victim of sexual exploitation caused by this defendant," Marsh said.
Marsh said he did not believe the ruling would necessarily lead to a flood of new claims. Victims are often reluctant to come forward or do not have the ability or awareness to pursue cases, he said.
Asked how his client is doing, he said, "She has a long road ahead of her."
Einhorn said the parties were discussing a possible settlement for a lower figure to avoid an appeal.
The Justice Department in recent years has made a greater effort to identify victims whose images turn up in child pornography possession cases, Marsh said. Prosecutors said they submitted the images to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which has a database to help authorities identify victims.
"We think this is a terrific precedent," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "The photos stay out there forever. Every time they are downloaded, every time they are distributed, the victim in that image is revictimized."
Allen said he hopes the ruling leads to more restitution orders and that they serve as deterrents to child pornography.
Prosecutors then notified the woman, now 19. The victim said she was eight or nine when she was subjected to sexual abuse by a relative for the purpose of producing child pornography that was requested by a pedophile in another state, according to court papers filed by prosecutors.
Hesketh was fired from his job in New London as Pfizer's vice president and global patent director after his arrest in March 2008. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials caught him at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
Authorities said that from June 2006 to May 2007, Hesketh used Google's now-defunct "Hello" program to exchange hundreds of images of child pornography and to engage in online "chats" about the sexual molestation of children.
Prosecutors said he posed online as a 28-year-old woman nicknamed "Suzibibaby" while trading the images, many of which included prepubescent and pubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct with adults and other minors.
Comment: Our development's porno parlor should fetch a hefty fine with the number of underaged Middle school girls ivolved!
Officials Closing Iolani Palace Wednesday
Grounds Closed As Precaution As Ceded Lands Goes To Supreme Court
POSTED: 3:42 pm HST February 24, 2009
UPDATED: 6:18 pm HST February 24, 2009
HONOLULU -- The state is closing Iolani Palace Wednesday as a security precaution.
The palace has been a recent target of radical sovereignty groups.
Last year, one group seized the palace, ousting its employees. A second group chained the palace gates shut.
State officials said they are concerned about an early morning vigil scheduled to take place at the state Capitol on Wednesday. The gathering is meant to draw attention to a controversial ceded lands case being heard at the U.S. Supreme Court at 5 a.m. Hawaii time.
Native Hawaiian groups will start assembling at 4 a.m.
Tune in to KITV 4 Island Television This Morning for reports from Washington and the state Capitol.
Comment: The assembling Native Hawaiian groups should be more appropriately classified as Drop Breed Hawaiian racists. The usual lunatic rabble is expected to be in attendance: lewd male exposers, drug addicts, an assortment of ex-cons, etc.
It is getting to the point that Iolani Palace is locked down whenever a stray dog lifts a hind leg in the direction of the land mark.
Native Hawaiian groups both in Hawai'i and the U.S. Mainland were expected to gather in protest early this morning as the U.S. Supreme Court was scheduled hear oral arguments in a case that will decide if the state administration will be able to sell ceded lands before the claims to those lands by Native Hawaiians are resolved.
Leaders with Office of Hawaiian Affairs, as do many other Native Hawaiian interests, believe the ramifications of a defeat by OHA at the hands of the Lingle administration could be devastating. The protests are scheduled to begin at 5 a.m. as the court is slated to begin its proceedings in Washington, D.C.
In Honolulu, many were expected to show up as early as 4 a.m. at the State Capitol for a 12-hour vigil in order to hold prayer and meditation, and protest the Lingle administration's decision to appeal the 2008 Hawai'i Supreme Court decision in OHA vs. State of Hawai'i to the highest court in the U.S. Headed by the 'ilio'ulaokalani Coalition, pahu drums are set to go off every hour on the hour.
Rumblings that some elements were interested in storming nearby 'Iolani Palace as a symbolic gesture, have led the Friends of 'Iolani Palace to close the historic building to the public for the day. And both the Friends group and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which is in charge of the grounds of the palace, have agreed to bolster security today.
Other protests were scheduled in Seattle, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, New Haven, Connecticut, and Washington D.C.
In San Francisco, hundreds are expected to gather at the Civic Center Plaza. Individuals organizing the event say they do not necessarily support OHA or any other group, but want to protect the public trusts and ensure greater accountability of those lands on the part of politicians.
At issue are the roughly 1.2 million acres once owned by the Hawaiian monarchy at the time of the 1893 overthrow that were "ceded" to the U.S. in 1898. The lands were transferred in the form of a public trust to the new state of Hawai'i in 1959 for five purposes, one of which was for the betterment of conditions of native Hawaiians.
When the state attempted in 1994 to sell a portion of the land to a developer for affordable housing for the general public, also one of the five stated purposes, OHA and Native Hawaiian individuals sued to block the sale. While a lower court ruled in favor of the state administration, the Hawai'i Supreme Court reversed the decision and sided with OHA.
State Attorney General Mark Bennett says the administration had no choice but to appeal because the Hawai'i court's decision raised a legal cloud over the state's right to govern the lands for the benefit of all Hawai'i residents.
But OHA officials say the ban is only until claims are resolved and that no harm is being done to the state while sale of the lands is improper until the questions about Native Hawaiian claims are settled. OHA officials and their supporters say their more seriously concern is that the case will give the High Court the opportunity to look at more serious issues, including the issue of whether Native Hawaiian programs and funding should exist at all.
Comment: "Devastating" to Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) should translate as "realization that the United States of America frowns upon racist agendas and institutions."
Joined: 17 Jan 2006 Posts: 7039 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 7:21 pm Post subject:
To all:
While in Hawaii, Obama spends most of his time within the military complexes.
In a message dated 2/26/2009 1:45:06 P.M. Hawaiian Standard Time:
SHMUEL (SAM) VAKNIN
Read Dr. Vaknin's CURRICULUM VITAE
Born in 1961 in Qiryat-Yam, Israel.
Served in the Israeli Defence Force (1979-1982) in training and education units.
Dr. Vaknin has written extensively about narcissism.
Dr. Vaknin States "I must confess I was impressed by Sen. Barack Obama from the first time I saw him. At first I was excited to see a black candidate. He looked youthful, spoke well, appeared to be confident - a wholesome presidential package. I was put off soon, not just because of his shallowness but also because there was an air of haughtiness in his demeanor that was unsettling. His posture and his body language were louder than his empty words. Obama's speeches are unlike any political speech we have heard in American history. Never a politician in this land had such quasi "religious" impact on so many people. The fact that Obama is a total incognito with zero accomplishments, makes this inexplicable infatuation alarming. Obama is not an ordinary man. He is not a genius. In fact he is quite ignorant on most important subjects."
Barack Obama is a narcissist.
Dr. Sam Vaknin, the author of the Malignant Self Love believes "Barack Obama appears to be a narcissist." Vaknin is a world authority on narcissism. He understands narcissism and describes the inner mind of a narcissist like no other person. When he talks about narcissism everyone listens. Vaknin says that Obama's language, posture and demeanor, and the testimonies of his closest, dearest and nearest suggest that the Senator is either a narcissist or he may have narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Narcissists project a grandiose but false image of themselves. Jim Jones, the charismatic leader of People's Temple, the man who led over 900 of his followers to cheerfully commit mass suicide and even murder their own children was also a narcissist.
David Koresh, Charles Manson, Joseph Koni, Shoko Asahara, Stalin, Saddam, Mao, Kim Jong Ill and Adolph Hitler are a few examples of narcissists of our time. All these men had a tremendous influence over their fanciers. They created a personality cult around themselves and with their blazing speeches elevated their admirers, filled their hearts with enthusiasm and instilled in their minds a new zest for life. They gave them hope! They promised them the moon, but alas, invariably they brought them to their doom. When you are a victim of a cult of personality, you don't know it until it is too late. One determining factor in the development of NPD is childhood abuse.
Obama's early life was decidedly chaotic and replete with traumatic and mentally bruising dislocations," says Vaknin. "Mixed-race marriages were even less common then. His parents went through a divorce when he was an infant (two years old). Obama saw his father only once again, before he died in a car accident. Then his mother re-married and Obama had to relocate to Indonesia , a foreign land with a radically foreign culture, to be raised by a step-father. At the age of ten, he was whisked off to live with his maternal (white) grandparents. He saw his mother only intermittently in the following few years and then she vanished from his life in 1979. She died of cancer in 1995".
One must never underestimate the manipulative genius of pathological narcissists. They project such an imposing personality that it overwhelms those around them. Charmed by the charisma of the narcissist, people become like clay in his hands. They cheerfully do his bidding and delight to be at his service. The narcissist shapes the world around himself and reduces others in his own inverted image. He creates a cult of personality. His admirers become his co- dependents. Narcissists have no interest in things that do not help them to reach their personal objective. They are focused on one thing alone and that is power. All other issues are meaningless to them and they do not want to waste their precious time on trivialities. Anything that does not help them is beneath them and do not deserve their attention.
If an issue raised in the Senate does not help Obama in one way or another, he has no interest in it. The "present" vote is a safe vote. No one can criticize him if things go wrong. Those issues are unworthy by their very nature because they are not about him. Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review led to a contract and advance to write a book about race relations.
The University of Chicago Law School provided him a lot longer than expected and at the end it evolved into, guess what? His own autobiography! Instead of writing a scholarly paper focusing on race relations, for which he had been paid, Obama could not resist writing about his most sublime self. He entitled the book Dreams from My Father.
Not surprisingly, Adolph Hitler also wrote his own autobiography when he was still nobody. So did Stalin. For a narcissist no subject is as important as his own self. Why would he waste his precious time and genius writing about insignificant things when he can write about such an august being as himself? Narcissists are often callous and even ruthless. As the norm, they lack conscience. This is evident from Obama's lack of interest in his own brother who lives on only one dollar per month.
A man who lives in luxury, who takes a private jet to vacation in Hawaii, and who has raised nearly half a billion dollars for his campaign (something unprecedented in history) has no interest in the plight of his own brother. Why? Because, his brother cannot be used for his ascent to power.
A narcissist cares for no one but himself. This election is like no other in the history of America . The issues are insignificant compared to what is at stake. What can be more dangerous than having a man bereft of conscience, a serial liar, and one who cannot distinguish his fantasies from reality as the leader of the free world? I hate to sound alarmist, but one is a fool if one is not alarmed. Many politicians are narcissists. They pose no threat to others...They are simply self serving and selfish.
Obama evidences symptoms of pathological narcissism, which is different from the run-of-the-mill narcissism of a Richard Nixon or a Bill Clinton for example. To him reality and fantasy are intertwined. This is a mental health issue, not just a character flaw. Pathological narcissists are dangerous because they look normal and even intelligent. It is this disguise that makes them treacherous.
Today the Democrats have placed all their hopes in Obama. But this man could put an end to their party. The great majority of blacks have also decided to vote for Obama. Only a fool does not know that their support for him is racially driven. This is racism, pure and simple. The downside of this is that if Obama turns out to be the disaster I predict, he will cause widespread resentment among the whites.
The blacks are unlikely to give up their support of their man. Cultic mentality is pernicious and unrelenting. They will dig their heads deeper in the sand and blame Obama's detractors of racism. This will cause a backlash among the whites.
The white supremacists will take advantage of the discontent and they will receive widespread support. I predict that in less than four years, racial tensions will increase to levels never seen since the turbulent 1960's.
Obama will set the clock back decades... America is the bastion of freedom. The peace of the world depends on the strength of America , and its weakness translates into the triumph of terrorism and victory of rogue nations.
It is no wonder that Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez, the Castrists, the Hezbollah, the Hamas, the lawyers of the Guantanamo terrorists and virtually all sworn enemies of America are so thrilled by the prospect of their man in the White House. America is on the verge of destruction. There is no insanity greater than electing a pathological narcissist as president
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